How Am I Gonna Be An Optimist About This?
Admittedly, Hizashi and Shouta were hesitant to say yes when Tsunagu approached them about fostering a few days prior to Katsuki’s arrival. The knowledge of Katsuki’s “reputation” making the decision of what the best course of action should be more difficult. Ultimately, it had been their kids, encouraging and telling them to accept that finally led to Shouta calling Tsunagu and saying yes.
Yet as Hizashi descended back downstairs, a part of him couldn’t help but be curious over the younger boy. He was much more different than the boy that they had imagined. He had expected to find the boy aggressive and rude as his previous placements had claimed. Instead Hizashi thought of him to be quiet and defensive. As well as suspicious with the way he kept reacting when Hizashi showed him an ounce of kindness. It saddened him, thinking of what Katsuki had faced to make him doubt the smallest of offers. Hizashi shook himself out of those thoughts, turning on the kitchen radio, deciding to get dinner started.
As he placed the meat on the stove he heard the front door open up. He smiled, instantly hearing Hitoshi and Izuku debating with one another. He could easily hear how passionate Izuku was over it with how fast he was talking, so he assumed it had to do with one of his comic books again. Their debate was quickly drowned out by a louder voice entering the house.
“PAPA, WE’RE HOME!” Eri screamed out. His smile grew, knowing Eri probably had the biggest smile right now. He turned the radio down as he responded.
“In the kitchen!” He called out. As soon as the words were out of his mouth he could hear someone walk over. He looked over to see Shouta walking into the kitchen, Eri being carried in his arms.
“How was shopping?” Hizashi asked him. Shouta sent him an exasperated smile.
“Exhilarating,” He deadpanned. Hizashi grinned as he walked over to him.
“At least you’re home now,” He said. Shouta hummed in agreement as Hizashi gave him a kiss. He quickly gave Eri a kiss on the head as soon as he pulled away, making her giggle.
“Where are the boys?” He asked, turning back to the food.
“Upstairs,” Shouta told him.
“I wanna go!” Eri said, wiggling in Shouta’s grasp. He gave her an amused look and set her down. The two men watched her run out of the kitchen, laughing as she headed upstairs. As soon as she was out of earshot, Shouta turned back to Hizashi.
“Is he here?” He asked him. Hizashi nodded.
“Upstairs,” He informed him. “Letting him have a moment of peace until dinner’s ready. Hopefully the kids don’t disturb him.”
“I doubt it. Zuku and Hitoshi seemed caught up in their argument,” Shouta said. “How is he?”
“Quiet,” Hizashi said, thoughtfully. Shouta nodded. “I have no idea what could be on his mind right now, but hopefully dinner will help us figure it out.”
“And if not dinner, then the kids might. I don’t think anybody can stay too quiet around them.” Shouta joked. Hizashi grinned, turning away from him.
“You usually do,” He replied.
“That’s because I enjoy suffering in silence,” He said. Hizashi let out a small laugh at his husband’s dry tone.
“Need any help?” Shouta asked. Hizashi immediately shook his head.
“No. Katsuki’s first meal should be something that is actually edible,” He teased. Shouta rolled his eyes, but Hizashi could see his face turn a light pink.
“I’m not that bad at cooking,” Shouta grumbled. Hizashi raised an eyebrow at him, almost challenging. He let out a huff of breath. “Then I’m going to go grade some papers.”
“Don’t feel too bad Sho, you’re amazing at washing dishes,” Hizashi joked as Shouta made his way out of the kitchen. He smiled brightly hearing him bark out a laugh. As he walked out of the kitchen, Hizashi found himself turning the radio back up and humming along as he continued to cook.
Katsuki tensed up hearing multiple voices downstairs. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but based off of how loud it was, he was not a fan. His shoulders hunched up as he heard two of the voices walking past his door. He could pick up some of their conversation, but instead he focused on one of the voices. It sounded almost familiar. He couldn’t place where, but he was more than positive that he knew that voice from somewhere. With his luck it was probably a brat from a previous placement.
It better not be that fucking blonde haired bitch, he thought. She definitely held first place on his list of worse kids to share a fucking home with. Always playing the goddamn angel and making sure he got punished. As well as being the reason he got suspended from school during that time. Honestly if he didn’t leave that place knowing he had won, he would have just kicked her ass before Hakamata could get him out of the door. Luckily, he got her back just in time. Katsuki would never forget hearing the scream she let out after her shower and seeing her walk out of the bathroom with pink hair.
He continued trying to figure out where that voice was from. Though it was difficult since he had only heard it for a few seconds, and it was muffled because of the door. However he could tell that it sounded older, so he concluded it must be from one of his earlier places. It instantly filled him with annoyance, not knowing who the voice belonged to because at this point it could’ve been anyone.
He instantly broke out of his thoughts hearing someone outside his door. He sat up, hands clenched into fists, as he noticed the doorknob turning. They slightly unclenched as the door opened and all he saw standing there was Yamada. However his body stayed stiff, looking at the blonde man. Yamada looked at him, eyes wide, before giving him a soft smile. If Katsuki hadn’t been looking at him he would have thought he had imagined it.
“Hey listener, dinner’s ready so I thought I’d come and get you,” He said. Katsuki blinked.
“Listener?” Yamada gave him a sheepish smile.
“Oh, sorry! It’s a force of habit from work,” He explained. “I’m the host of the radio show Put Your Hands Up Radio, ever heard of it?”
“No,” Katsuki said. To his surprise, the bluntness did not deter the man. Instead he just shot him a quick grin.
“I’ll have to show you sometime then!” He said. He turned and waved for Katsuki to follow him. With a small sigh, Katsuki stood up and did. Though he made sure to close the door behind him, not wanting anyone to look in and grab his things, sticking his hands in his pockets afterwards.
“The others should be downstairs already. I will admit they can get loud, but they’re all nice and excited to meet you so you have no reason to be worried! And they’ll probably not be as loud tonight in order to avoid overwhelming you. Well..The boys might. I can’t make any promises on Eri. She’s a wild card most nights,” Yamada rambled on. Katsuki cringed as they reached the bottom of the stairs, already hearing what he was talking about. He could hear multiple voices in there but the loudest and most energetic one definitely belonged to a little girl, so he assumed that one was Eri.
Yamada walked into the dining room first. Instead of following him in, Katsuki stood by the archway. All he needed to see was all of them together to understand how much he truly didn’t belong here. He was beginning to believe Hakamata left him here as a fucking joke.
“Alright, everyone, this is Katsuki, the boy we’ve been telling you about,” Yamada introduced. He looked over, finally noticing how Katsuki hadn’t walked in behind him. He gave him an encouraging smile and motioned at him to come closer. Katsuki rolled his eyes and, very reluctantly might he add, walked over to Yamada, keeping his eyes low.
“Katsuki, this is my husband, Shouta and our daughter, Eri,” He told him.
He rolled his eyes noticing Yamada was pointing at them, even though it would be pretty fucking obvious who’s who. He decided to humour the man, the least he could do since Yamada hadn’t been an asshole to him yet, and finally looked up at his family as he continued. “And these are our sons, Hitoshi and -”
“Deku?” Katsuki interrupted, focusing on the green haired boy with freckles sitting at the table. The boy’s eyes widened, most likely taken aback from the force in Katsuki’s voice. The boy silently stared at him. If it weren’t for his shaky smile and the way he wrung his hands together, Katsuki would have thought he was wrong. But as the boy spoke he knew that, as always, he was right.
“Ka-Kacchan!” He said. His voice was bright, but obviously nervous. Katsuki rolled his eyes. “It’s good to see you again!”
I knew this place was too good to be true, he thought.
“You two know each other?” Yamada asked, looking between the two boys. Katsuki scowled.
“Sadly,” He said, noticing Deku’s small wince at his answer.
“And I thought I was rude,” The purple hair boy said, amused. But as Katsuki looked over at him, he knew he was anything but. Instead the boy was giving Katsuki an unimpressed look.
“Hitoshi…” Deku said, looking at his brother. He, Hitoshi, ignored him and instead glared at Katsuki. Not one to back down from a challenge, and this purple bastard would definitely be one, he glared back at him.
It was Yamada’s husband, Shouta, that broke the tension between the two boys. He cleared his throat causing Katsuki to look away from Hitoshi and over to him. As soon as they made eye contact he noticed how different he was from Yamada. Instead of having any sort of smile on his face like his husband had all day, he was looking at him with a neutral look. He crossed his arms, hating how it felt his eyes were staring straight into him.
“It’s nice to meet you, Katsuki,” He said, voice just as neutral.
“Bakugou,” He muttered. Shouta raised an eyebrow.
“I’m sorry?” He said, a tone of confusion breaking his neutral tone. Katsuki rolled his eyes.
“Bakugou,” He repeated, annoyed. “Not Katsuki.”
He ignored Yamada looking over at him as Shouta just nodded. “Alright Bakugou, nice to meet you. Take a seat so you can eat.”
Katsuki, begrudgingly, listened to the man, taking the seat closest to the exit. To his dismay it was also right next to the little girl. Already he had decided that he was not the biggest fan of his new foster siblings. But if he had to choose he would say Eri was the most tolerable one so far. Even if she was one of the loudest brats he had ever met. She was a much better choice than her brothers.
As dinner went on he could feel the tension from earlier was still lingering. With the way he could feel the nerd’s and purple bastard’s eyes glance often at him and the brief awkward lulls of conversation, he knew he wasn’t the only one. Honestly if it hadn’t been for Eri’s energy and Yamada’s multiple, and for the most part successful, attempts at conversation with his family, he’s sure dinner would have just been an awkward silence. He was just fucking grateful that this family could take a hint and let him keep to himself.
The gratefulness soon left once dinner ended and Yamada and Shouta asked him to stay to talk. He held his tongue and stayed in his seat as the others left the table. But he did glare at all of them as they gave him one last look before walking out of the dining room. He could easily hear all of them talking as they made their way back upstairs. He wasn’t sure what was said, but they were loud enough that he knew it was about. Though, he wasn’t sure if that was on purpose or not.
Katsuki sat, arms crossed and jaw clenched, as he stared at the two men. He made sure to keep his chair far enough from the table that he'd be able to move away quickly if he had to. He made sure to keep his chair far from the table enough that he’d be able to move quickly in case he had to. If either of them noticed they didn’t say anything.
“Have you ever heard of U.A?” Shouta asked, surprising him. He was expecting this talk to be about stupid Deku, not about one of the top schools of the country. He narrowed his eyes and nodded, prompting Shouta to continue. “Good, because you’ll be taking the entrance exam tomorrow.”
Katsuki’s eyes widened, but he did his best to school his expression. He was positive Shouta noticed though, a small twitch of his lips giving him away. Katsuki spoke up before he could bring attention to it.
“Don’t I have to take that before the school year?”
“Usually yes,” Yamada said, “But since we both work there, the school’s willing to make an exception and allow you to take a test. If you get in is all up to how you do.”
Katsuki leaned back against the chair. He usually wasn’t a fan of leeways, but he’d have to make an exception this time. He knew he’d never get another chance to even take an entrance exam for a school as good as U.A.
Instead of voicing his excitement, Katsuki nodded. “Nice knowing there are loopholes to join the elite.”
“The school’s not like that,” Yamada told him, obviously amused. Katsuki rolled his eyes.
“Sure,” He scoffed. “It’s no secret that school is full of annoying brats that basically pay their way in.”
“I can assure you, those kids all passed their exams,” Shouta said to him. Katsuki raised an eyebrow.
“You’re not denying they’re annoying,” He pointed out. Shout shrugged.
“That’ll be your opinion, kid. But if I were you, I’d learn how to put up with ‘annoying brats’ or it’ll be a long school year,” Shouta said to him. Katsuki blinked as he looked at the man. His tone and look were as neutral as they were earlier, but Katsuki wasn’t an idiot. He could easily pick up on the message behind the man's words. Not wanting to focus on it, Katsuki let out a huff of breath.
“Whatever,” He said, quietly. Yamada gave him a soft smile.
“You can head up now,” He said. “You’ll need a full night’s rest for tomorrow!”
Katsuki didn’t hesitate to leave the dining room. He quickly made his way back upstairs. Though as soon as he reached the top of the stairs he noticed Deku waiting by his door. The boy gave him a small smile, which Katsuki responded to with a scowl.
He angrily made his way to his door, ignoring Deku’s annoying presence. Though once he opened the door, he grabbed his arm and harshly pulled him into the room. He closed the door and turned to the green haired boy. He wouldn’t admit it outloud, but it was a small shock seeing Deku give him a small nervous smile rather than cowering like he thought he would be. But he hid his surprise, opting instead to glare at the boy.
“Kacchan-”
“Shut up!” Katsuki snapped. “I’m going to tell you this once and only once, so listen up. Whatever you remember, you keep to your fucking self.”
Deku frowned at him. “Kacchan, you shouldn’t keep it a secret. They would help-”
“I don’t need help!” He growled. “I don’t need you or anyone in this house to help me. So you just need to keep your mouth shut or else.”
Deku stared at him, his green eyes holding just as much emotion as they did when he was younger. Only this time, he didn’t know what they were. But Katsuki didn’t waver. Instead he stood straight, glaring up at the boy. Finally Deku nodded.
“Alright,” He relented. He bit his lip, almost worriedly. “If you need to, you can talk to me.”
“I’d rather choke,” Katsuki told him. He didn’t watch Deku as he walked out of the room. But his posture did relax as soon as he heard the click of the door. He walked over to his unpacked bag, deciding to get ready for bed. He would need the rest since he had a big day tomorrow.
I am not letting anything ruin my chances tomorrow, he promised himself as he unzipped the bag.